Category Archives: Gullah/Geechee Language and Linguistics

These conferences are wonderful opportunities to engage in interactive activities and dialogues with people that live the Gullah/Geechee culture and learn first hand how they continue to keep their cultural heritage alive. You can also learn how you can be an active part of assisting in that process. The Gullah/Geechees encourage hunnuh fa jayn we fa yeddi who webe frum we!

Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) will begin the “Save the Sea Islands Tour” which she has done under different themes over the past 21 years by taking a journey through South Carolina in celebration of “Black History Month.” Ef hunnuh wan yeddi bout who webe pun de islandts een de sea, cum fa yeddi bout de #GullahGeechee fa de mont bout Black histree and we storee!

“The spirit you feed is the one that’s gonna thrive.” So, it is time to decide if you have the spirit that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah had or have you decided that you would prefer to eat the meat of those that feed you in order to keep you in bondage. I gwine keep standin and shoutin wid de shree and wid Daniel! AMEN!

The Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition has fought against the re-enslavement of Gullah/Geechees as well as the misrepresentation of our culture and displacement of our people from our homeland from Jacksonville, NC to Jacksonville, FL. Yet, not everyone wants to be free unfortunately. So, as Ella’s Song says,

Many people only look to the Gullah/Geechee Nation to hear storytelling and music or to seek out a great plate of food. However, when they arrive on the soil of the Sea Islands and Lowcountry between Jacksonville, NC and Jacksonville, FL they are now walking on the foundations of America that is held together by the blood, sweat, and tears of the Africans from Angola, Ivory Coast, Burkina-Faso, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Togo, Benin, Gabon, Congo, and Zaire as well as some from Madagascar and Mozambique.

In 2013, the Governors of the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia declared “Gullah/Geechee Awareness Month” and “Gullah/Geechee Heritage Month,” respectively. Since that time, the leaders of the Gullah/Geechee Nation have continued the celebration of “Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Awareness Month.”

“Gullah/Geechee Nation Appreciation Week” began in 2012 in the City of Charleston, SC. Since then, the celebration has grown to encompass the counties and townships of the Gullah/Geechee Nation in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. This year, the theme of the celebration is “Fa We Ancestas.” The Gullah/Geechee Nation is proud that this week is part of the global activities for the “United Nations International Decade of People of African Descent.”

“Fa We Ancestas” is the theme of the 2017 “Gullah/Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival™.” This festival began on historic St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation in 2005 and has since traveled to numerous cities of the Gullah/Geechee Nation as well as to the Bahamas. This year’s return to St. Helena Island will be a celebration of the rich living culture of the island and Beaufort County.

The three day celebration August 4-6, 2017 will educate the supporters through a series of cultural heritage activities.

Queen Quet has been the elected head-of-state and Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation (www.QueenQuet.com) for 17 years as of July 2, 2017. She has been standing up for the rights of Gullah/Geechee people for over three decades. Whenever asked about this, she will let you know that she stands due to her faith and the strength of her ancestors. Thus, she has effectively led a number of endeavors that have led to global recognition of Gullah/Geechee cultural heritage. The annual event that she co-founded to celebrate this rich heritage while also supporting the businesses and institutions of the Gullah/Geechee Nation is the “Gullah/Geechee Nation International Music & Movement Festival™” which will be held on her home island-historic St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation August 4-6, 2017.

To celebrate 20 years at the premiere advocacy organization for Gullah/Geechee people worldwide, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition will host twenty different events as a part of #GullahGeechee2020. These events will also be part of their continued celebration and commemoration of the International Decade of People of African Descent.